The KYD – Grade I
1 1/4 Mile Dirt Stake Purse $5,000.00 Three-Year-Olds. At CD

1st      Gogh Wild                  TwinTowersRacing               32-1 (HRP) 5-1 (SRF)

February 20,Gogh Wild had tried one qualifying race foe the Derby and seemed a bit disinterested in the idea, tried another 1 1/16 mile race in the $175.00 CA Cup Derby and looked like he couldn’t make the distance. But then on the twentieth, he won a pricey GP sprint and looked bright. Then on March 2, came another dynamite Derby-level mile work at 1:36 2/5H. I reckon that work convinced his connections to give the Derby one more try and he was placed into the Grade I FL Derby qualifier which he won in a dead heat with Destined Charge which Mb Stables chose not to bring into the KYD. So, he got his ticket in the last minute and 13th post, which is not all that bad, in the big show and when the gate opened, he stormed into a two-length lead and extended from there, never to be headed to win under strong hand encouragement.

2nd      Meekshallinherit                  Big Jd Racing           18-1 (HRP) 10-1 (SRF)

Meekshallinherit has had an up and down qualifying season with a hard-fought second in The Jerome qualifier but then seemed uninterested in The Davis Stakes. So then, he upsets The TAM Derby qualifier at 26-1 and earns his ticket into the Derby but then tried the BG Stakes qualifier and again showed no interest. Now, into the Derby as a rare qualifier and an 18-1 longshot he was very interested, breaking into contention from the git-go and up into second behind the eventual winner after a quarter where he maintained his position to the wire, closing the margin but never really threatening Gogh Wild.

3rd       Hurts               Royalty Stables                         *7-2 (HRP) *4-1 (SRF)

Everyone’s favourite, Hurts had the daunting task of being a deep closer in a twenty-horse race. Lay back 7th in an eleven-horse race like The AR Derby and you win by a length. Lay back 10th in a fourteen-horse race like the BC Juvenile and you are third. Here, hapless Hurts breaks out 17th, what does he know? there are three horses behind him, and he’s a whopping eleven lengths behind immediately. I don’t care how good you are, unless you are Silky Sullivan on one great day in his life, you aren’t going to make up eleven lengths against Derby horses at 1 1/4 miles. So, Hurts trudged valiantly on but was still 15th nine-lengths back coming home. That he made up seven lengths down the lane is remarkable but doomed. Best third-place finish I’ve ever seen.

4th      Magic Fighter                 Maxmillion Farm         67-1 (HRP) 5-1 (SRF)

A fifth in the San Felipe Stakes qualifier and second in the SA Derby qualifier was enough to get Magic Fighter into the Derby as a qualifier and the second longest price on the board at 67-1. Personally, I was impressed with a SRF 98 in the SA Derby and had him fifth at 5-1,,, but that’s what makes a horse race. Jockey R  Hernandez was clever enough to risk a little energy in the early going to keep his closer in more of a stalk position in the cluttered field when the horse willingly stayed there and moved up around the turn home and actually closed a couple of lengths down the lane to take home a KYD check.

5th      People Batty               Night Rider Stables         28-1 (HRP) 20-1 (SRF)

Since being gelded People Batty has been a stone-cold front runner taking the lead into the stretch in every race he’s been involved in. For the Derby, a complete change of tactics as a deep closer starting eleventh and staying eleventh and actually dropping back through the race from six to eight lengths before making a late run up to fifth beaten only three.

6th       Knowing Spirit                   Ajm Stables             29-1 (HRP) 5-1 (SRF)

In his one and only qualifying race, Knowing Spirit dead heated in the Ruby Stakes qualifier closing from 12th to finish on even terms with Art Of Boom which finished far behind him here. In this KYD, he passed seven horses from thirteenth to sixth and the five lengths he made up netted him absolutely nothing.

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES, TC 2026